Duel Monsters Aside
by Mimiholly
Summary: It's the gang's last year attending Domino High. With Battle city in the not to distant past, an exchange program in the works, new friends, and a danger of a different sort lurking around every corner, will the gang even make it to graduation?
1. School Daze

Authoress Note:

Hello everyone! Oh my Goodness it has been far too long since I've been back on this site! It's easily been a 5 year hiatus that I have been on...Needless to say, my writing skills have improved greatly, at least I've learn to put speech of two different characters in _different_ paragraphs now. Anywho, I hope you all enjoy and... If I owned Yu-Gi-Oh I wouldn't have shoved so many duels into it!

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**Duel Monsters Aside**

**_Chapter One: School Daze._  
**

"Hey Yug! It's been a while since we showed our beautiful mugs in dis place neh?" A Brooklyn accent ripped through the crowd of bustling students. The overly loud voice originated from a familiar blonde haired duelist, as he attempted to move through the densely packed students. Though his efforts were similar to that of a fish struggling to get upstream, he did manage to catch the attention of a tri-color haired male down the hall.

Unfortunately, due to Yugi's height, or lack thereof, it was difficult for him to locate Joey through the dense traffic of students. Oh how he cursed his height, and the fact and school regulations would not allow him platform shoes or stilts. He had tried to glance through the crowd, discretely swaying back and forth, hoping a gap would form between the seemingly impenetrable walls of students; however, the boy received no such luck. If he wanted to locate his blonde haired friend, he would have to do the unthinkable.

Hop up like an idiot, in hopes of seeing _over_ the crowd.

Glancing around to make sure no one in particular was looking at him; Yugi put his pride on the line and jumped into the air, managing to catch a glimpse of a familiar mop of dirty blonde hair.

"I guess you can say that Joey! Doesn't seem like anyone missed us though!" Yugi attempted to yell out to his friend, only to jump back against his locker as Joey broke through the crowd in front of him.

"You can say that again, it's like the population doubled over the summer!" Breaking out of crowd right behind Joey, Tristan slumped against the lockers to the right of Yugi, as if he had just ran a mile, not fought his way through a crowded hallway of students.

"It does seem that way...I don't even recognize half of the people here...But then again...We're so occupied with Battle City and the God cards...Maybe we just never noticed before." It was the only logical answer in Yugi's mind, though he really didn't think they could over look so many people. Had Domino's population really grown that much over one summer?

Next to make their way through the crowd was a very dishevelled-looking Téa, her chocolate brown locks askew, protruding from her head at odd angles. The three boys, shocked upon seeing the only female of their group in such a state, could only respond to her sudden entrance with a very odd stare, it wasn't like Téa to come to school without extensive morning preparations. Téa answered with a cold stare that screamed '_Don't ask.'_

"The population did double you guys. Weren't you listening to the morning announcements? Because of the success of Battle City, Domino High has jumped on the band wagon and signed up us for an international exchange program. Most of the students you see here don't even _speak _Japanese!" Squinting slightly, she glanced down at the silver lock on the locker next to her, using the small reflective surface it provided to attempt to fix the mess of hair cascading around her face. "Since I'm on the welcoming committee, I had to wake up two hours earlier just to help with orientation for them! But, of course, my alarm clock was still set for my usual routine, so I hardly had time to get dressed and rush here, and there so many of them to show around...Guys it was –"She shook her head, glancing at her friends, only to find them ignoring her and scanning the group, trying to point out those who were from Domino, and those who were from the exchange program. "...Or don't care."

"Sorry Téa, Wha was dat?" Joey was the first to bring his attention back to the rambling brunette, a goofy yet apologetic half smile on his lips. The other two boys quickly followed suit, both smiling sheepishly.

"Doesn't matter, just another ramble..." There was a soft laugh in her voice as she shook her head at the boy's curiosity. She couldn't be mad at the guys, even if she tried. Besides, if she had not spent the better part of two hours with the overly large group of exchange students, she would be just as entranced by the new comers.

"Does it feel weird yet?" She asked out of the blue, further grabbing the boys' attention.

"What feels weird?" Tristan arched an oblivious eyebrow, eyeing Joey as if the blonde haired duellist held the answer to Téa's cryptic question.

"Now dat you mention it, I've been having dis weird tinglin' sensation going on in my right foot...Very odd..." Joey stated, shaking his leg slightly as if to prove his point, but his expression quickly turned into confusion as Téa and Yugi both smacked their foreheads with their hands. "Wha did I say?"

"Joe, she meant now that we're graduating this year. And your foot is asleep." Yugi explained, talking through his hand that was still firmly against his forehead. "This is our last year here...No prophesies to worry about."

"And for once...There's no Duel Monsters interfering..." Téa further explained, leaning against the lockers to glance at the slowly diminishing crowd.

"...You're right...No Rare Hunters to deal with." Tristan chimed in, turning to look at the school that in a few months, they would be leaving for good.

"Yeah! No Shadow Realm!" Joey exclaimed, a little too loudly, causing a few passer bys to glance oddly in his direction before returning to whispering amongst themselves. But if one knew, they couldn't blame him for being so enthusiastic about the loss of the shadow realm. "But...It does seem odd...Knowin' that we're gonna be da ones runnin' dis school! Things are going to change around here—"

"Mutt, the only thing you could run would be a flea circus." It didn't take a scientist to recognize the cold tone of one infamous CEO of the single most profitable company in all of Japan. Besides, if they could not detect Seto Kaiba by his voice, his presence, complete with bellowing trench coat, was not one to be missed. "Now out of my way." Shoving rudely past Joey, he didn't even stay around long enough for Joey to properly respond to the insult, only hearing the 3rd rate duellist growl behind him, a small smirk appearing on his lips as he disappeared back into the crowd.

"Then again Joey, some things never change..." Tristan shook his head as he gripped Joey's shoulder, holding him back from running after the CEO and embarrass himself by attempting to tear him a new one. "He's not worth it, Bud."

However, Joey was unrelenting. After suffering yet another humiliating loss to the pompous CEO during Battle City, Joey's blood seemed to boil just at the mere utterance of the Kaiba name. Heck, if you mentioned anything technologic to the boy, his mind would link it to the Kaiba Corporation, and because of its obvious owner, would become enraged at the subject.

That's when it became painfully clear to the gang that maybe, just maybe, taking a break from all the duelling, the world crisis's, and the prophecies that came along with it would prove to be in their favour. That maybe their final year attending Domino High would be a memorable one for _good_ reasons...Nothing like the way Battle City would be remembered.

That's also when an all too familiar bell tone resonated throughout the extensive building of Domino High, echoing down its crowded hallways and soon to be crowded classrooms. Soon following the tone, there seemed to be a collective mix of groans, whines, cheers and even a few colourful words. Thankfully, the magical bell seemed to have control over the flow of students, and it seemed the densely packed hallway was nearly bare in a few milliseconds.

"Uhm, By the way...Did anyone manage to see what home room we're in?" Tristan asked sheepishly, Joey soon following suit as he glanced from Yugi to Téa.

Again, palms met foreheads, and wordlessly the only knowledgeable two of the group grasped the remaining members' hands and dragged them down the swiftly emptying hallway. Once they were on the opposite side of the school, and one floor up, the four joined another dense group of students filtering into the many homerooms available.

~~**~~

"Sweet! Togetha again! They just can't seem ta split us up!" Joey announced, loudly of course, to the half filled classroom of B230, his fist enthusiastically pumping the air. Again, Joey had earned himself an array of odd looks and questioning stares, and one frustrated groan from the far corner of the class. "Yeah, nice ta see ya again too, Moneybags."

Before round two of "War of the Duelists" could commence, Téa took firm hold of Joey's elbow, adding more pressure than necessary to get her point across. With a gentle push, Joey seemed to put his vendetta-seeking on hold, in order to grab them a row of seats.

With the class being a little more than half full or a little less half empty in some people's point of view, the foursome was forced to take the last row on the right, closest to the window. A prime seating location, if their neighbour wasn't the one and only Seto Kaiba.

"Figures..." Tristan muttered under his breath, taking longer strides to reach the first desk in the vacant row. Though the chestnut haired teen hated being up front, it put him the farthest away from the CEO, and therefore he would not be so easily pulled into any trouble that might be caused. Téa not too subtly, pushed Joey into the seat behind Tristan, whilst taking her seat behind him. Unfortunately, this left Yugi with the honors of sitting right across the former host of the not so distant Battle City tournament.

But if anything, Yugi was the person who would be the least uncomfortable with the arrangement. So really, it didn't seem like they were making Yugi take some sort of blue-eyes shaped bullet for the team, or throwing him under the...Limo so to speak. Besides, at least after defeating him in his own tournament, Kaiba at least respected Yugi, even if was a mediocre respect at best.

"Kaiba."

"Yugi."

Sure, it wasn't the best conversation in the world. But it was an exchange of words nevertheless, and even if it was just a mere single word, there was some respect and understanding in it.

Soon after, the rest of the students assigned to room B230 began to file in, some of which the gang recognized, some that no one recognized, and a very few that Téa had recognized from that morning's orientation. The exchange students seemed to stick out awkwardly, now that Téa had pointed out their sudden appearance within the student body that made up Domino High. Awkward, shy students, clinging to usually one or more likewise individuals, even if they had not known each other back in their home country, for the simple fact that they shared a common fear of being in a foreign place so far from home was enough to band them together.

"Kinda stick out like sor' thumbs neh?" Joey snickered, pointing out the few groups of students that were frightened of being separated due to the odd sorting organization of the home rooms. No one really understood the system, most just assumed it was random and left it at that, some believed that it was something to do with one's astrological sign, and even some believed that it was certain fate that created the odd nonsensical combinations. It seemed to boggle all the students, except one lone student who resigned to their 'fate' and waltzed into classroom B230.

Head tilted towards the floor, causing strawberry blonde hair to hang slightly in her face, masking it from the classroom, the quiet female fidgeted with her hands slightly, quickly peeking at the classroom layout from under her curtain of hair. Catching glimpse of the empty row next to the gang, save for Kaiba of course, the seemingly shy girl quickly took the seat across from Joey. Brushing her strawberry locks back and away from her face as if it was now safe to reveal herself to the class now that she had claimed a spot. The new comer, who looked a tad young to be in a senior's class, adjusted the dark frames on her nose before sliding them off completely to give them a good cleaning.

"Oh! Gabrielle was it? Hi there!" Téa called out to the young girl, causing her to jump in her seat slightly, spinning around to face who ever had called her name. Repositioning the glasses on her nose, the girl's hazel eyes seemed to brighten considerably.

"Téa right? Well at least that's one familiar face here." Gabrielle's voice was soft and timid, matching her appearance completely, though after being bombarded with a sudden introduction of her other neighbours, she seemed to warm up slightly.

"Where's your sister, I thought I saw her name on the roster for this room...Oh no, don't tell me she's lost! I knew I should have handed out maps at orientation!" Téa was back to rambling about things she could no longer control, leaving the guys to roll their eyes at her stipulation to always be over-prepared. It didn't seem to faze Gabrielle much, if anything she seemed to be amused by the brunette's actions.

"No, she saw that T.K, a friend of ours, was on the roster as well, she's off to find him. I won't be surprised if they're late –" As if on cue, the second bell tone for the day rang throughout the now empty halls, save for the few students running late, and now full classrooms, save for the two vacant seats in Gabrielle's row.

"Ah man, even though dis is our last year...Feels like the same ol' shtick again. Other den da fact we have ourselves some newbies to watch over." Joey shot a pointed, though mirthful glance at Gabrielle, who replied by blushing and smiling awkwardly back. "Feels like everythin' in our lives is gonna be normal fo' once." The gang seemed to nod in agreement, though from behind Gabrielle there was an audible scoff.

Though it was painfully evident that there was no teacher present as of the current moment, a short raven haired student on the far side of the room, one with a pristine appearance and a neon armband that screamed '_Unpopular Hall Monitor'_ stood up from his desk and informally addressed the class.

"As Hall Monitor, I find it in my power to shut the door, as the second bell has gone, and those stupid enough to arrive late to the first class of the year, should learn that Domino will not tolerate such tardiness." Despite some muffled choice comments about said hall monitor, the poor fool moved over to the slightly ajar door.

Pausing for, dramatic effect, attention, you decide and was about to shut it when the sound of four uncoordinated feet came thundering down the hallway, hitting the door with nearly enough force to knock it off its hinges, but more than enough force to slam into the fool and send him careening back into the first row of desks. In his place, a teen duo, one male one female, practically flew into the classroom. Unfortunately for the male, he had overestimated the amount of jump it would take to reach the room, and ended up sliding ungracefully across the teacher's desk, landing bottom-first into the waste bin on the other side, leaving the female to stumble against the desk, slightly out of breath.

"Joey was it? You'll soon come to learn with these exchange students, this year will anything _but _normal." Gabrielle muttered to the blonde, sinking low in her seat.

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Authoress Note: OH MY GOODNESS! My first YGO themed chapter in over 5 years! Oh goodness I'm so proud of myself. And it...Doesn't suck as much as I thought it would. Then again, I spent two days writing it and trying to self edit, so maybe I'm just sick of my own writing. But this is why I have you people! PLEASE DROP A REVIEW! I tend to get discouraged from writing if I feel no one is reading and enjoying it anyway! This is all for you guys too! So R&R and thankies!

...By the way...

Cookies and chibis for all those review. *Shifty eyes*

Yes I'm resorting to bribery.


	2. A Rice Ball In a Duel Monster's Game

Authoress Note: People reviewed me! -Tears of happiness- I'm so touched... The story was only up for a few hours when I received my first two reviews... I'm so...touched! So Big shout outs to Charmaine Champagne and arashi wolf princess THANK YOU SO MUCH! Your chibis and cookies are in the mail! BTW EVERYONE ELSE R&R!!

Disclaimer: Yea yea, if I owned Yu-Gi-Oh I wouldn't let 4kids of censored all the good stuff out!

Duel Monsters Aside

_Chapter Two: A Rice Ball in a Duel Monster's Game_

If there had been any peace in classroom B230, despite the invasion of exchange students, the anxiety of it being the final year for entirety of the class and the fact that the once beautiful weather outside was turning to rain as time continued... It was most certainly disturbed with the sudden, if not grand entrance, of the final two students to be placed in said classroom.

"Dear Ra, please hide me..." The strawberry blonde new comer, known as Gabrielle, muttered into her desk as she seemingly tried to slide out of view from the rest of the class. You couldn't blame the girl for being so embarrassed, you try to stay out of any spotlight what so ever, and your sister and best friend decide to crash into the class like it's some sort of party!

Needless to say, the entrance of the two was not easily overlooked; even a certain CEO looked up from his laptop for a solitary moment, rolling his eyes at the sheer idiocy of his classmates. Everyone else, save for the hall monitor that was trying to steady himself against the desk he was so rudely flung up against, took the situation in mirth. Even some of the students _clapped _for the stumbling duo that had managed to dash into the classroom without being caught by any of the faculty.

"Aw thanks you guys...Are we late?" The female of the duo posed the question to the class, a laugh escaping her. Clad in a slightly dishevelled school uniform, the girl ran her hand through her fiery red hair, a sly smile on her lips. She seemed almost proud, brilliant even, until she realized her partner in crime was missing, her expression then changing to utter confusion.

"Takaru? Where did you go?" She could have sworn that he was right in front of her, but it seemed that he had disappeared from her sight.

"I'm in the can Sora." The equally dishevelled blonde boy called from his unfortunate position. The boy had overestimated his jump, and it resulted in him sliding across the teacher's desk until he was stopped by falling into the waste bin. But the statement stopped Sora in her tracks, causing her to shield her emerald green eyes from whatever Takaru would be doing in such a thing.

"Oh okay, Just tell me when you're—what the hell?" Thinking the sentence through again, Sora finally clued in to what he_ actually_ meant by being in a can. Peeking around the corner of the desk, the crimson haired girl could not help but laugh at her partner's position. "You're an idiot T.K." Her pale pink lips breaking into a carefree smile, she offered her hand to the blonde mess before her, plucking him from the waste bin with ease. Not that it was a great feat; Takaru was a little more than a twig, while Sora had a slightly athletic build.

"Excuse me! But if you two are done making asses of yourself! You cannot just come waltzing into class whenever you damn well please! The second bell had gone!" The hall monitor, regaining his posture, decided to take this time to attempt to chew the tardy duo out. Takaru chose to outright ignore the raven haired individual, slipping into the seat in front of Gabrielle, flashing a bright idiotic smile. This left Sora to deal with the brunt of the attack, in front the entirety of the class.

"That was the second bell? Thanks Captain of the Campus Defence Force! Now...Isn't there someone else you can bother, as you can see I'm sort of busy." Though her words were wavering between sickly sweet and just plain condescending, the same smile adorned her lips. Without another word, she turned away from the boy to take the last remaining seat in the classroom, but as she took her first step away a hand gripped her shoulder, preventing her from doing as such.

"This goes beyond outrageous, and I don't care if the teacher will lavish pity on you because you're new, because I won't! I can see already that you're going to be nothing but a disrespectful student! But I suppose for anyone lazy enough not to show up to the first class of the year on time, this is all just _natural _for you. But here, students are expected to show up on time when the bells goes, and anyone with _common_ sense can see that."

"Shut up." The mirth was drained from a once airy and bright voice, her crimson bangs hanging in her face slightly. Gripping the hand on her shoulder, Sora tossed it to the side with excessive force, nearly knocking the hall monitor off his feet as she spun on her heel, taking a step into his person space. "Quit shouting like you're king of the frigging world, you're making my ears bleed, _you bastard_."

"Rest in Peace, Dear Hall Monitor, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest." Gabrielle muttered once again, shooting her older sister a pleading stare through her curtain of hair.

It seemed that the silence hushed over the class turned from eavesdropping on what was being said, so utter shock over such a change in attitude. Sora's entire posture had changed, no longer carefree and light with her actions, she seemed to stiffen up considerably, and even though the boy was a few inches taller than her, the look in her eye seemed to make her tower above him. This was only responded with a slight sweat drop and an audible gulp.

"Here's some common sense for you, if I arrived on time in a quiet manner, it wouldn't make me polite, and it sure as hell wouldn't stop me from _kicking_ your ass. So, touch me again, and you'll find out where I plan on _shoving _that precious bell of yours...Have a nice day!" Though her voice was dangerously low in the beginning, her final statement was as light and airy as her tone when she first entered the room. Smiling brightly, she spun on her heel once again and practically skipped to the last remaining seat, sandwiched right between Gabrielle and Kaiba. But not before rewarding herself with a double high five from both Tristan and Joey.

"Oh, hello Téa, fancy seeing you again!"All seemed forgotten, especially when Sora turned her attention fully to Téa, making small conversation with greetings and comments about the school. The hall monitor, which some referred to as Makoto, sent what only could be assumed as a death glare in the girl's direction, which was only met with a smile and gentle wave.

~~**~~

Other than a few hushed whispers about the gutsy outburst of one of the new exchange students. The day in homeroom (as if they ever left the bloody room) was as uneventful as any other first day of school. Outline for this, discussion of what will be discussed later on in the classes, list of recommended readings, boring welcoming lecture there. If it wasn't for the occasional mentioning of graduation, one would not be able to tell the classroom apart from any other year.

"So much for being psyched about our final year..." Tristan muttered to the blonde duelist behind him, flicking a paper ball into the waste bin a few feet in front of him.

"Got dat right. Ain't nothing different 'cept for the new mugs around here!

Hey Téa, are we all still on for meeting afta school at Yug's?" Not to be shown up by Tristan, Joey quickly ripped his paper into quarters, making a ball out of one of the pieces and flicking it in the general direction of the waste bin, though he missed by a couple of inches.

"Guys I told you, I have to go home and help the two students my parents took in...Not that we really have the room at our place right now...But with dad laid off now, the money will at least help us. Though, I'm more excited to see who I'm going to be spending this year with, don't you two ever listen to me?" Téa hissed softly to the two numbskulls in front of her, gently kicking Joey's seat to emphasize her point.

"Shouldn't they already be in their student housing? I mean, school has started and all." Tristan turned in his seat to properly converse with Téa, though the action put his face right in the path of another paper ball flicked by none other than Joey. This earned the blonde another kick to his seating, though he only responded in laughing loudly.

"...Flight was delayed a day...Then 4 hours...Then had engine troubles...By the time we all got here, it was time to get to the school for orientation..." Sora interjected, her head resting on her folded arms on the desk. With that, a yawn seemed to take control of her, causing her to stretch slightly before slumping back against the desk, as if proving her point. "None have us have slept, much less gone to any housing..."

This caused the jaws of many of girl's neighbours to drop, glancing at the handful of exchange students placed in their classroom. What cruel program forced their applicants to go to school, even after a day with no sleep?! There was a slight blur of sympathetic phrases, though they seemed to fall on deaf ears. It seemed that Sora was already working on regaining the lost hours of sleep, only awakening to summarize their current condition before returning to the land of sleep.

"Well...No matter Téa if they seem friendly enough, bring them over as well, you know that more is merrier." Yugi, always the accommodating one, smiled brightly at the brunette. Téa nodded and smiled just as brightly in his direction, thanking him for such generosity. Yugi could only shrug and blush in response.

Unbeknownst to the both of them, the dosing girl next to them, aware of the conversations going on around her, broke into a gentle smile. "I wonder if you two know how obvious your feelings are..." The sentence was whispered, and even further muffled by the desk and her arms.

~~**~~

"So our plans are still on then?"

The familiar quartet met in the same place where they had all met in the morning; surrounding Yugi's locker. At least this time around, the hallways were not packed with bustling students. In fact, it seemed as if the school was abandoned, and the bell had only gone off less than ten minutes ago!

"Hopefully. I mean, how long can it take to help a few students settle in? Most of the preparations for them are already done, and I'm sure they'll be friendly people! If all goes well I'll only be gone a few hours." Téa checked the time for the third time within the span of two minutes. She would hate to keep her parents waiting, as well as leave her friends without at least a backup plan. It was her fault for not informing them about the arrangement earlier, but then again her parents has chosen to tell her quite last minute as well.

"Téa, if you're so paranoid about the time, just go, we'll forgive you for rushing off to keep your word to your parents! Besides, we're already friends with you, give the new comers a chance!" Tristan grabbed Téa gently by the elbow, tugging her gently away from the group. Téa looked around at her friends, guilt in her eyes for having to postpone their plans because of their absent mindedness. But, they only smiled in response, knowing this was more important. "Go Téa, and say hi to them for us."

"And if they're chicks, get their numba's for us!" Joey hollered at Téa's retreating from, grinning from ear to ear at Tristan, whose face was likewise, leaving Yugi to drop his head into his awaiting hands.

"Please hurry..." Yugi muttered into his hands, a plea unheard by the two scheming boys.

~~**~~

"Damnit Yug, ya got me again!"

"Oh Joe, don't feel so bad, I bet if you keep practicing you will beat me one day!"

"Yug, you don't know what this means ta me, I mean...If I beat ya, I can beat Moneybags any day of the week!"

"Joey, you're logic is astounding." Tristan said as he entered the back room of the Kame Game shop, a stack of cans balancing in his hands as Yugi and Joey cleared the coffee table of yet another duel monsters match. Joey sent the brunette a playful glare as he gathered his cards together, shuffling them profusely before placing them back on the table. "Don't tell me you're going for another round..."

"Come on Joey, it would be our tenth match, you've improved a lot already, let's just break for now." Yugi smiled brightly, though he could feel that Yami could continue to duel the night away. But it was his body, and his hands were sore.

As if just the boys' plead to stop the continuous duelling would not be enough, the familiar jingling of the bell signalled the entrance of someone to the small card shop.

"Guess who!" Téa's voice filled the shop, the sound of the door shutting following soon afterwards. The trio of boys turned their attentions to the open door, intrigued by the two voices that seemed to follow Téa into the shop. Of course she was bringing her exchange students with her, she wouldn't be allowed out if she didn't want to bring them along into the shop.

"Back here Téa!" Yugi replied loudly, trying not to laugh as Joey scrambled to neatly store the cards neatly away. Soon enough, Téa bounded into the room, still clad in her school uniform, though at least she had enough sense to lose the jacket.

"Hey guys, you'll never guess who my roomies are!" Téa was grinning from ear to ear, though they expected this kind of reaction if the students dwelling in her house were at least half-way nice. Fortunately, the boys did not have enough time to even come up with a guess before two familiar females drifted into the room.

Well, Gabrielle drifted, as if trying to remain unseen by the inhabitants of the room.

Sora never was one for being shy.

"Hello Chico's! Aren't you guy's lucky, looks like you get to deal with my wonderful presence inside and outside of school!" Sora's grin nearly matched Téa's as she bounded into the room, though with her tone as coy as hers, it took on a completely different meaning. Gabrielle gripped the bridge of her nose, as if dealing with her sister's antics was painful for her, but didn't hesitate from waving shyly to the boys.

"No way, who knew Téa was actually gonna ta get someone from our class!" Joey leapt to his feet, an attempted sly smile on his face as he sauntered up to Sora...Only to be cut off by Tristan.

"Sora, enchante. May I say you handled Makato expertly today in homeroom!" Tristan complimented, laying it on thick as he grasped the crimson haired female's hand in his, bowing slightly. If he wasn't so busy being debonair, he would of notice the highly amused look on Sora's face, and how she pointed to him with her free hand and mouthed _'Is he always like this?'_

"Only around females unfortunately, just try to ignore the dense duo over here, it'll make their idiocy less shocking to you." Téa smiled and pushed Tristan gently away from the snickering red head, guiding her over to the vacant couch.

"You're saying that to half of the duo that crashed into homeroom today, then proceeded to make a complete _ass _of herself?" Gabrielle, who had boldly moved to Yugi, to attempt to actually converse normally with a human, paused from her conversation with him to interject. Unfortunately, it didn't have quite the effect she was expecting, instead of being shameful, Sora grinned with _pride _at the mentioning of the morning's events.

"So your grandfather owns this shop? That's cool." Gabrielle turned her attention back to Yugi, an awkward smile on her lips, though for once she was not hiding behind a curtain of hair, her facial features actually completely visible. "Back on the island, Duel Monsters was never that popular, there was only a few of us who played."

"Duel What?" Sora uttered, raising her eyebrow in genuine curiosity. Her simple utterance caught the attention of everyone in the room once again, this time, the males jaws were dropped in surprise. "What did I say?!"

Gabrielle could just smash her head on the coffee table right now, but this wasn't their house, and they hadn't even known these people for an hour, so it probably wouldn't be accepted well. She would just have to settle for blushing and wishing that her big mouthed sister didn't put herself under a rock for so many years.

"It's a card game Sora, with monsters and life points. The objective of the game is to eliminate your opponent's life points by playing a mix of stronger monsters, traps and magic cards..." As Yugi continued to describe the game in excessive detail, Gabrielle glanced at Téa, offering her an apologetic gaze. Téa nodded and smiled mirthfully in response, knowing that Sora had uttered a phrase unheard of in Domino city.

"Here, I'll show ya the great cards that Gramps' shop has!" And with that, Sora was pulled from her seat, and Joey practically dragged the girl into the store front, Yugi hot on his heels.

"Well, that will successfully kill an hour...Or less depending on whether or not Sora dies of boredom." Tristan shook his head, the sound of two male voices blabbering excitedly about the worth of certain monsters, which monster was which type, all floating freely into the back room.

"Figures though, two guys with a pretty girl...And they're more excited about card games." Gabrielle found herself boldly stating, nearly regretting the words as soon as they left her lips. She expected that her words would somehow offend them, and she would just as easily kill any chance for friendship here. However, when her statement was met with a mixed agreement and laughter, Gabrielle was proud that she finally managed to get the attention of someone, without Sora having to be directly involved.

"Let's try and save her huh?" Téa leapt from her seat, grasping a reluctant Tristan and Gabrielle by their hands and dragging them down the hall to the store front.

Yugi and Joey had Sora in the corner of the game shop, pointing out a variety of magic cards, describing them to her, commenting on which ones they liked, which ones were nearly useless with their decks. Somehow, Sora managed to at the very least _appear _interested in what they had to say, nodding at appropriate intervals, smiling, even asking a question or two. It confused the entering trio that's for sure, most people who were jet lagged didn't have much patience for listening to people go on about game rules and strategies.

"Bored to death yet Sora?" Téa called out to the girl, causing the three to turn in their direction.

"Hell no Téa, you never know when I might get caught up in duel...Type...Thing..." Sora was rapidly running out of words to say that were associated with the game, prove that at best she was half-listening to the boys. So, she did what anyone would do when almost outing themselves as not listening to something that was obviously important.

Grin and nod.

Luckily, before anyone could actually ask her a question that would prove whether or not she was truly listening, the front door to the Kame Game Shop flung open, and the bell nearly knocked off its hook as its ringing resonated through the shop.

Enter Seto Kaiba.

Tall, lanky, handsome, a blue-eyed brunette with enough of an attitude to instantly kill the light-hearted mood that was set in the shop, with only a few steps the man had managed to place a dark blanket over the game shop. Yugi bit his lip gently, nodding to Kaiba before rushing behind the counter, a bright smile on his lips.

For everyone else, it seemed as though keeping themselves against the walls opposite of the young CEO wasn't even comfortable distance for them. Gabrielle and Sora locked eyes from across the room, both confused but well aware of the sudden tension in the room. Sora was especially aware of it, standing right in between Kaiba and Joey, sandwiched between the two catalysts of the tension.

"Good even Kaiba, what brings you here?" Yugi's cheery tone seemed to cut through the tension, allowing the other inhabitants of the room to go about their business, or at least distract themselves with it.

"Mokuba's birthday is next week. Figured might as well get him a present while I'm in the area." It was the first time the sister's had even heard the lanky teen speak, despite the fact they had technically spent all day with him in their classroom. To their surprise, this tone was as cold as his posture, almost venomous as he spoke with Yugi.

"Oh? How thoughtful!... We received a new shipment the other day, I'm sure he'll love a few booster packs from it!" Yugi, smiling awkwardly, bent down to open the new box, the smell of freshly printed cards almost intoxicating.

Kaiba only snorted in response, muttering some smart ass remark under his breath as he nudged Sora into Joey as he strode up to the register. Sora, though not thinking much of the action, she knew not to pick a fight with every guy who looked at her weirdly or pushed her, found herself putting a hand on a fuming Joey's shoulder.

"I don't know who this guy is, but I doubt he's worth it Joey." Sora, taking a page out of Yugi's book, exclaimed cheerfully while making sure her tone was not hushed. Why should she care if the blue-eyed mystery man heard her?

And he did hear her, and scoffed audibly at her words, had the nerd herd just grown in size?_ Joy._

Though the transaction only took a few seconds, if that, the tension made it feel as if hours were passing. Paying for the few booster packs of cards, the young CEO at least had the decency to nod respectfully to the tri-color haired boy. Eventually, he turned on his heel and made his way out of the shop, but not before riling up a certain blonde.

"Seems like the nerd herd is growing, I can't help but feel sorry for the fools who have to rely on the likes of you for companionship." Though his words were directed at Joey that was nearly exploding with anger, His gaze was locked onto Sora. Not that that was his intention, but the fool had positioned herself right in between the two. " Though I suppose it's time you found a female of your kind, _Mutt." _Giving the green-eyed girl a pointed look, he decided to take his leave before the Joey found a way around the girl.

Sora knew her position was bad, especially when Kaiba started going at Joey _through _her. But...Rethinking what the brunette said, she realized what he was implied.

"What the hell did you just _imply_ I was?"

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

Ending Notes: Well, Seto sure is in for a surprise I bet. You all saw her when a simple hall monitor was insulting her. By the way, I dedicate the beginning part of this chapter to an unrelated anime. I had just saw the episode and realized " YES! THIS WORKS WITH MY STORY!" and sampled from it....Can you guess which anime it is? Can you? Can you? There's extra cookies in it if you guess! Don't forget to R&R and see you all soon!


	3. Clash of the Titans

Author's note: Yay! 3rd chapter FINALLY... Any who, without further ado, here's the next chapter! By the way... I don't own Yugioh. Also, I've been suffering from SEVERE WRITERS BLOCK. So any ideas or input on the direction to pull this in, feel FREE to express yourself... So I apologize if this chapter is crap. Next chapter will be better I swear! Better crappy update than no update at all?

Duel Monsters Aside

_Chapter Three: Clash of the Titans_

"What the hell did you just _imply_ I was?"

Well it was too late to take back the words now. She had realized as the words spewed forth from her mouth that maybe, just maybe, this was neither the time nor the place to be starting a fight. Maybe it was the fact Joey was practically _shaking_ with anger next to her, maybe it was the fact Yugi seemed to be sweating bullets as Sora moved to block the brunette's path out of the game shop...Or maybe it was her little sister in background searching for a hard surface to smash her head against. Either way, the words were out now, she was far past the point of no return.

"Answer me." While she was playing with fire, she might as well throw herself into the pits of hell. Though if she wanted a hope in hell of being at the same height at the cold brunette before her, she would have to stand on her tip-toes...Which probably wouldn't garner the intimidated reaction she wanted. And it probably wouldn't have mattered considering the absolutely icy glare the man was giving her.

He scoffed, she had expected as much. With the way the man held himself, he obviously thought quite highly of himself, and he moved to brush her aside, as if she were just some insignificant fly bothering his wonderful existence. But Sora's sneaker clad feet remained in their spot, emerald green burning into icy azure.

"I do not have to _answer_ to anyone, Miss. And it would be wise of you to move back alongside the Mutt, and out of my way." The cold hiss from his lips seemed to freeze the atmosphere in the game shop. Leaving everyone frozen into their places, useless to do anything but gawk at the fiery battle about to erupt between the two.

"Excuse me, Mr—"Sora's hand waved in the air, signalling that she was clueless to her opponent's name, but it was more of a frustrated gesture than a request of information. She continued too fast for him to answer her anyway. "But where I come from, people have more of a common respect for each other. And you don't even know me, so why the _fuck_ do you have the right to implicate what kind of person _I _am?" Hot words hissed from her lips, her eyes trailing his body with the exact same disgusted look as him.

"This is going to end horribly...I can practically taste it..." Gabrielle muttered under her breath, low enough that only the other two inhabitants of the corner could hear her. Téa and Tristan could only nod slightly, their eyes fixed on the hissing match between Sora and Seto.

"How does Sora not know who he is...?" Tristan muttered back, his eyes trailing over the scene before them.

"Well, Tahsis is a one-horse town...On an island...We don't hear about much..." Gabrielle bit her lip, her cheeks flaming red as the threats flew through the air. They didn't miss a beat, as if they had been rehearsing this spat for days! But, enough was enough, they were new here, and Gabrielle couldn't have her sister running her mouth at every jerk she saw. She went to move forward, to hopefully pull her sister away from the brunette, but she had forgotten about the box at her feet that Yugi had pulled out.

Crashing onto the floor wasn't exactly her plan. But the two did stop to look at her. Sora seemed to forget all about the current verbal spat she was involved with and rushed over to the blonde's side. The cold brunette was indifferent.

"Kiddo you okay?" A familiar bell rang throughout the shop, signalling the exit of one Seto Kaiba, having mumbled under his breath that this was a waste of his valuable time. Gabrielle tried to suppress a smile as her sister knelt beside her.

"I'm fine, just bruised my pride a bit." The dark cloud suddenly dissipated from the game shop, and it seemed everyone exhaled for the first time since Kaiba entered the shop. Without another word everyone seemed to collect back into the living space upstairs.

* * *

"Is he always like that?" Sora asked as they sat around a large coffee table, watching yet another duel between Joey and Yugi. The rest of the gang sat around them in mock interest, though they were more inclined to answer the young redhead's questions than the two boys entranced by their duel.

"He's Seto Kaiba, what can you expect?" Tristan shrugged as he spoke the name into the quiet room, which caused Joey to stiffen considerably.

Finally, the duel had come to a pause, much to the two newcomer's relief; they weren't fully grasping the intricate game play anyway. Everyone else in the room however, seemed to roll their eyes simultaneously as the enraged blonde turned from his game.

"He's da biggest jerk this side of Japan you guys! He thinks he's _so_ high and mighty just 'cause he owns a big ass company. Well, he ain't even worth the time of day with us! Unless I'm beating his ass in a duel, than he's worth all the time in the world." Seeing the usual care-free blonde speaking so vindictively about the brunette from earlier, Sora and Gabrielle could not help but raise their eyebrows in confusion.

"Joey, every time you step on the field with him, he wipes the floor with you...When did you ever have him on the ropes?" Téa teased the poor boy, a playful smile on her lips. It was no secret to anyone in the game shop that there was clear animosity between the well dressed, albeit cold brunette from earlier and the loud-mouthed blonde in front of them now. The tension was almost to the point that any mention of a certain CEO was guaranteed to receive an interesting reaction from Joey.

Much like now, as Joey seemed to turn several shades of red, though only those with a degree in body language could tell whether it was from anger or embarrassment.

"Hey! I ranked second in Duelist Kingdom! Kaiba didn't even make it to finals!"

"Err...Joey he really wasn't competing..." Tristan countered, offering a bowl of chips to Gabrielle.

"Well, I...I ranked fourth in his tournament!"

"He ranked third." Téa pointed out, trying not to giggle as Sora seemed all too entertained by Joey's frantic defences, and the inhuman shades of red he was currently turning.

"I woulda knocked him off that spot! But...I was too worried about Yug'!" Frantic, albeit useless hand gestures now accompanied the over-the-top reaction from Joey, an addition that only added to the entertainment value for those inhabiting the room. "When did ya guys join the Seto-friggin'-Kaiba Fan Club anyway?"

Hopping up and huffing, Joey crossed his arms, another dramatic display of hurt, to be betrayed by his friends in such a heinous way.

"Joe, cool it, we're just evening out your ego." Tristan grinned wickedly from his position on the floor, gratefully accepting the chip bowl back from Gabrielle.

"A...But...Neh?"

"I can't blame them Joey, the last thing you want is to be like...Er...Seto-What's-His-Face." A snicker soon followed from Sora's lips, the red head daring to take the blonde's position at the table and shift through the cards in his hand that he left face down on the surface.

Joey seemed to pause in his state of rage, the red draining from his face as the rest of the group only answered in a series of nods and snickers. However, the red soon appeared back on the blonde's cheeks, though it was painfully evident that this was for the other reaction.

"Heh...Yeah...Sorry about dat you guys..." Scratching the back of his head, Joey smiled sheepishly before sinking back to the floor in front of the coffee table, choosing to opt for letting the clueless redhead to hold his cards for him. "Hey Sor' Place dat one next to my Swordman of Landstar, but keep it face down."

"So that Yugi can't see it? How devious of you." Fluttering her emerald eyes at his honey-brown ones, Sora gingerly took the card from her hand, and slowly slipped it face down onto the table. The coy act only reaped a darker blush from Joey, but a series of snickers from the spectators...Save for her sister who was rolling her eyes.

"It's going to be a long night you guys..."

* * *

"Seto! You're home! What took you so long? You said you were coming home over an hour ago!" An innocent, albeit worried voice belonging to one Mokuba Kaiba rang throughout the mansion, only a few moments after the creaking of a large door signalled his brother's return.

"I had business at Yugi's shop." The stoic brunette seemed to want to leave it at that. And Mokuba couldn't blame him. Whenever Yugi was involved in anything that crossed the path of his brother, it was painfully clear why he seemed more stressed and agitated than usual.

Shrugging off his signature trench coat, Seto offered his younger brother a strained, weary smile, his free hand messing the boy's untameable raven locks. His present was already hidden within the organized mess of his briefcase, safely kept out of reach of the excited child. Though frankly, the young CEO could have entered riding on a purple horse, and all the raven haired boy would focus on was that Seto was somewhere other than school or KaibaCorp.

"What did Joey say this time?" Mokuba arched an innocent eyebrow as Seto scoffed. It must have been bad this time, usually Seto just shot Joey down with one comment and left him fuming behind him...Sometimes he would even gloat about it back at home, but to actually appear bothered by it for once? It must have been a doosy this time around.

"Nothing, for once the mutt kept quiet...The newest addition to their nerd herd however..." Seto scoffed again, shaking his head before messing up his brother's hair one more time. "She had a little more bark than I was anticipating."

"Oh Seto, you didn't." Couldn't his brother just be civil with people for once? "You picked a fight with someone else?"

"Mokuba, I do not _pick_ fights. I simply try to prove that their incessant rants of friendship will not sway me over to join their little club." Another scoff and a ghost of smile offered to his younger brother, Seto paid no heed to the rest of his conversation, choosing to focus on removing his boots from his feet than meet his brother's no-doubt disappointed gaze.

"Seto...You can't just push them away because they try to nice to you. Look at all we went through with them, they saved us a few times in the past...Especially with that Pegasus scenario." The young raven teen followed his brother into the lavished living room of their mansion, which made the school of Domino High look absolutely miniscule in comparison. Though Mokuba was hardly pondering about the size of their abode, his attention focused more on how his brother stiffened considerably when Pegasus's name was uttered.

"Mokuba. That's enough. That entire incident was just an illusion, a waste of our time. Though Yugi did help to end it, and that is why I am civil to him. But I do _not_ owe the other nerds that much." Turning back to his younger counter part, Seto's voice had taken on a cold, reclusive tone, one that Mokuba was all too familiar with. "You owe them nothing as well. Don't forget that."

"But it's nice to have friends Seto! Don't you get lonely? Don't you think that maybe, just maybe, in your graduate year...That you might need a friend?" Mokuba sighed softly in frustration as Seto seemed to all but shut him out, turning back around and moving to the staircase.

"I have all I need."

Those were the last words spared to the boy before the young CEO took his leave and stalked up the elegant staircase to the second floor of their mansion, where the bedrooms and recreations rooms were located, and continued to the third floor, to where the young man spent most of this time; His office.

As Seto closed the door to this office, the faint, albeit thundering steps of an upset younger sibling echoed through the halls, soon to be followed by a firm slamming of a door.

"This day just keeps getting better..." Shaking his head, the tired CEO moved slowly to the large desk that he spent most of his days sitting at, tossing his briefcase haphazardly onto the twin set of couches that sat on either side of the large TV, a device only ever used when Mokuba was present. Not that anything like that would be happening again...And they had almost hashed things out this time around too.

Overtime, business trips, schooling, almost everything that came with being a teenage CEO seemed to be working simultaneously to rip a rift between the Kaiba brothers. For days the two had been struggling to co-exist in the spacious mansion they called home. Lack of time to spend together, and when they could, one of them...Okay mostly Seto, would not be in the mood for carefree activities and bonding.

It was an unfortunate occurrence that the brooding CEO was regretting more and more each day. But what could he do? This was his job, and his job kept a roof above both their heads and food in their stomachs...It provided them with a life that they would never have to settle for second best, or compromise...Except when it came to their relationship.

Sighing heavily, the CEO sunk into the leather chair, reaching his hand over to the mouse of his computer. Soon, his spat with the nerd herd, the idiots at the office, even the fact that his little brother was cursing him in his own room was soon forgotten, filled with the facts amongst dozens of spreadsheets and stock reports.

"It's going to be a long night..."

* * *

Mr Burkley was an unfortunate man. Despite being a long-running faculty member of Domino High, his parking spot had been assigned before the parking lot was expanded into the vast sea of blacktop it was today. The parking section now wrapping around the left side of the school, the board thought it would be too bothersome to reverse and mark more stalls for the teachers. So, Mr Burkley, who was not known for being an exceptionally fast walker, was left in his humble spot in the furthest corner of the school.

So when a long, piercing ring of Domino High echoed throughout the building for the second time that morning, signalling what should have been the start of class. The students of B230 knew that they had an extra ten minutes before their teacher would stroll leisurely into class.

"They're lucky his spot is so far away..." Téa whispered in a hushed tone to those around her, gesturing to the vacant seats that lay behind and in front of Gabrielle...Spots that were assigned to Sora and Takaru.

"I know, I don't even understand how Sora can be late...Doesn't she come to school with you guys?" Tristan turned in his seat to face the rest of them, resting his elbows on Joey's desk in the process.

"Not really, Sora leaves earlier than us to meet up with Takaru...But you would figure they would get here before us then..." Gabrielle shrugged slightly in her seat, pushing her glasses back up the bridge of her nose before craning her neck to see out the wall of windows that consumed the west wall of the classroom.

"Let's hope they can perform another stunt like yesterday...Except this time _let_ them get caught." Hissed a sore voice from the opposite side of the room, attracting the attention of the five teens again. Makato certainly wasn't going to forget the incident yesterday considering the tardy duo, which had disturbed the calm serenity of the classroom with their dramatic entrance. "Maybe that will teach them to—"

Twin sets of thundering footsteps, a blur of the door opening, a gust of wind, not to mention a disastrous crash soon afterwards. This time, the sudden entrance of the duo occurred within a fraction of a second. However, it did not end as well as it had yesterday.

Untangling herself from the mess of limbs of herself and Takaru, Sora slapped on a sheepish smile as she forced herself to her feet, tiding up her uniform at she did so.

"Well, _that's_ going to bruise." Muttered the fallen blonde, who was still seeing stars as he sluggishly pulled himself away from the teacher's desk, staggering in his steps once or twice before flopping into his seat.

"Excuse me! I knew this was going to happen! You get away with it once, now you're going to make a habit of it! I knew I pegged you right!" Sora seemed to roll her eyes as soon as the first syllable escaped the irate hall monitor's lips. This time, she didn't even choose to dignify the man with a response, moving into her seat wordlessly.

Besides, with Joey within earshot, he was already onto it.

"Why don't ya just shut yer trap for once, Makato. They ain't hurtin' nobody!"

"It's _anybody_, you ingrate. Can't you even form a simple sentence correctly?" A new voice joined the hissing match, this voice originating from behind Sora this time.

"What did ya say, Rich-boy?" Yugi was sinking into his seat already, his eyes meeting with Gabrielle as she attempted to do the same. If it wasn't one it seemed to be the other who was making a scene, and who said this year would be dull?

"Joey, don't bother, besides this is between me and Campus Defence Jerk Wad over there. Don't get in trouble over me."

"Aw, how cute."

"Shut it Kaiba! Before I shut yer trap for ya!"

"I would _love_ to see you try, Mutt."

Well, that did it. Joey was red in the face, judgement clouded by the enticement of a fight between him and the cold CEO. Who would turn down an offer to lay a punch on someone who humiliated you on a daily basis?

And so with that, five teens leapt from their seats, though not before Joey made an impressive leap across the room and landed with one Seto Kaiba barely an inch under his fist.

"Holy shit Joey!" Tristan, though furthest away, moved faster and quickly yanked the furious blonde off the bewildered CEO.

"Joey!"

"Joey!"

"Mr. Wheeler!"

Seven teens froze in the back of the classroom, desks and chairs pushed carelessly out of the way to accommodate them. The low roar of students shrieking in surprising and egging the situation one had drowned out the noise of the door opening, and Mr. Burkley himself shuffling through.

And what did he see? Seven of his students erupting into some sort of fight. Over what? He didn't care. He just knew he didn't like what he saw, nor would he let it slip.

"It's not what it looks like!" At first, they were unsure of who had spoken the words...And it took the motley crew of teens a moment to realize that they had _all_ said it, though now was not the time or the place to be giggling like school children.

"Jinx..." Sora whispered to the awkwardly silent room, a snicker emitting from a few students, including Tristan.

"It's going to be a _long_ day, you guys..."

* * *

Ending Notes: FINALLY! After nearly a year I finally get off my writer's block and manage to pump out a chapter! Hurrah! Please reward my efforts at beating my procrastination with delicious Reviews!

...And baked goods...Those are always nice!

R&R!


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